WSIS Forum 2017

Preparatory Process

The WSIS Forum 2017 preparatory process is
now underway, kicking off the first phase of
the
Open Consultation Process on 1
September, the organizers invite all WSIS
Stakeholders to
contribute to the
preparatory process.

Phase
I:
1 September 2016 -
Opening of the Open Consultations Process.

The WSIS Forum is the only event of its kind
where the programme is completely
crowdsourced. Therefore, as organizers, ITU,
UNESCO, UNCTAD and UNDP, are pleased to
announce the Open Consultation Process on
thematic aspects and innovations on the
format of the WSIS Forum 2017.

The preparatory process aims at ensuring a participatory
and inclusive spirit of the Forum, scheduled
to be held from 12-16 June 2017 at ITU in
Geneva. This process actively engages
governments, civil society, the private
sector, academia, the technical community
and intergovernmental organizations in the
preparatory process to ensure broad
ownership and further improvements of the
Forum. The Open Consultation Process will
include a collection of inputs from regional
and national WSIS related events. The
physical meetings of the Open Consultation
Process will benefit from remote
participation.

WSIS Stocktaking Process: Call for New Entries and Regional Reports

Submitted activities will be reflected in
the WSIS Stocktaking Report 2017 which will
be released at WSIS Forum 2017 (12-16 June
2017). The deadline for submission will be 1
March 2017. We invite all to continue
following WSIS Flash and WSIS social media
channels, and contribute to WSIS Stocktaking
process.

SDGs are greatly impacted by the ICTs and
best practices that provide on-the-ground
examples (8,000 activities) have been
submitted to the WSIS Stocktaking from
around the world carried out by
international organizations, governments,
the private sector, civil society and other
stakeholders. We are pleased to note that
the WSIS Stocktaking community now comprises
of close to 200,000 stakeholders.

SHARE the news on this key global repository
for collecting and reporting on ICT-related
projects which implement the WSIS Outcomes
and help advance sustainable development
goals. Recommend to subscribe to WSIS Flash
within your communities or follow WSIS
Stocktaking, including WSIS Prizes,
activities on our social media channels
listed
here.

Regional Stocktaking Reports

NEW WSIS Stocktaking product are the
Regional Stocktaking Reports (2014-2016),
which will be released in September 2016.

WSIS Prizes 2017

The WSIS Community is invited to submit
ICT-related projects and initiatives that
implement WSIS Outcomes and also
help advance SDGs. The WSIS Prizes
contest is an integral part of the WSIS
stocktaking process and it was first held in
2012. It rapidly gained attention and
popularity within the ICT for Development
(ICT4D) community, including the ICT4SDG
community.

All WSIS Stakeholders are encouraged to
SUBMIT their project descriptions to the
WSIS Prizes contest from 5 September
2016 until 15 February 2017. Check
out the timeline for WSIS Prizes 2017:

The first phase:
Submission phase,
5 September 2016 – 15 February 2017
(Deadline for last submission: 23:00
CEST)

The second phase:
Nomination phase,
16 February – 15 March 2017
Review of submitted projects by the
Expert Group that will result with a
list of nominated projects

The third phase:
Public Online Voting of Nominated Projects,
16 March – 15 April 2017
Identification of five projects per
category with the highest number of
votes (Deadline for last submission:
23:00 CEST)

The fourth phase:
Selection of Winning Projects by the Expert Group,
16 April – 25 April 2017

The fifth phase:
Public announcement of winners during
WSIS Prize 2017 Ceremony at WSIS
Forum 2017, and the release of
publication “WSIS Stocktaking: Success
Stories 2017”, which is a compilation of
extended descriptions of the 18 projects
and 72 champion projects.

UNGIS

Responding to the call by UNGA Overall
Review, more precisely para 12 that "calls
on (..)international organizations, (…) to
integrate information and communications
technologies into their approaches to
implementing the Goals, and request United
Nations entities facilitating the World
Summit on the Information Society action
lines to review their reporting and work
plans to support implementation of the 2030
Agenda", UN agencies are working together as
UNGIS members with the aim of developing
better understanding how ICT and ICT4SDG
component is reflected in the strategic and
working plans of the UN agencies.

WSIS Fund in Trust

Call for Contributions 2017

The WSIS Trust Fund was established in 2011
with the adoption of Plenipotentiary
Conference Resolution 140. Council
Resolution 1332 as modified by ITU Council
in May 2016 takes into account the outcomes
of the United Nations General Assembly
Overall Review of the Implementation of WSIS
Outcomes and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, and resolves to maintain the
fund to support ITU activities to facilitate
the implementation of WSIS outcomes, calls
for partnerships and strategic alliances,
and invites the ITU Membership to make
voluntary contributions to the fund.

Since its creation, information on the WSIS
Trust Fund and stakeholder contributions has
been reflected this—the dedicated website of
the WSIS Fund in Trust. I would like to take
this opportunity to thank all those who have
contributed towards the Trust Fund to date
for their dedication and commitment towards
WSIS Implementation, in particular the WSIS
Forum. The outcomes of the WSIS Forum 2016
can be found here. Moving towards 2025, and
following the multi-stakeholder approach,
the WSIS Forum will build upon the outcomes
of the WSIS+10 Review and the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development.

It is encouraged that all ITU membership to
make a contribution to the fund for the year
2017, and to invite all stakeholders to
partner with the WSIS Forum 2017. We welcome
you to explore the available
WSIS Forum 2017 Partnership Packages.

UNDESA - UN E-Government Survey 2016

The United Nations E-Government Survey
presents a systematic assessment of the use
and potential of information and
communication technologies to transform the
public sector by enhancing efficiency,
effectiveness, transparency, accountability,
access to public services and citizen
participation in the 193 Member States of
the United Nations, and at all levels of
development.

E-government database

The United Nations welcomes you to our
interactive e-Government Development
Database (UNeGovDD). The Database was
created by the Division for Public
Administration and Development Management
(DPADM) of the United Nations Department of
Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) to
provide governments and all members of civil
society easy access to this valuable
information for research, education and
planning purposes. We invite you to use the
interactive e-Government Development
Database to view, sort, and print
information from the UN E-Government Survey
, or download copies of the annual (2004,
2005, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014)United
Nations E-Government Survey, the primary
source of data for the UNeGovDD.

Press release

New York, 29 July 2016 - The United Kingdom,
followed by Australia and the Republic of
Korea, lead the world in providing
government services and information through
the Internet, e-government, according to a
new survey released today by the United
Nations showing the progress of nations in
promoting e-government.
Read more.

Publication

The 2016 E-Government Survey is issued at
the moment when countries are launching the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. It provides new
evidence and new analysis to reflect on the
potential of e-government to support the
implementation of the Agenda and the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that
are at its core. The 2030 Agenda itself
recognized that “the spread of information
and communications technology and global
interconnectedness has great potential to
accelerate human progress, to bridge the
digital divide and to develop knowledge
societies, as does scientific and
technological innovation across areas as
diverse as medicine and energy”. View the full
publication
here.

ICT Facts and Figures 2016

New data released by ITU show that 3.9
billion people remain cut-off from the vast
resources available on the Internet, despite
falling prices for ICT services.
ICT Facts & Figures 2016 shows
that developing countries now account for
the vast majority of Internet users, with
2.5 billion users compared with one billion
in developed countries. But Internet
penetration rates tell a different story,
with 81% in developed countries, compared
with 40% in developing countries and 15% in
the Least Developed Countries.

Mobile network coverage and evolving technologies

The ICT Facts and Figures 2016 features
end-2016 estimates for key
telecommunication/ICT indicators, including
on mobile-cellular subscriptions, Internet
use, fixed and mobile broadband services,
home ICT access, and more. 2016 marks the
year when the international community is
embarking on the implementation of the 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and
their 169 targets. ITU data inform public
and private-sector decision makers, and help
ITU accomplish its mission: to make use of
the full potential of ICTs for the
achievement of the SDGs.